The present invention relates, in general, to electronics, and more particularly, to methods of forming semiconductor devices and structure.
In the past, the semiconductor industry utilized various methods and structures for forming Schottky diodes. Schottky diodes were frequently used in low voltage/high frequency applications because the low forward voltage provided very fast switching characteristics. There was an increasing interest in Schottky diodes with low forward voltage. However, lowering the forward voltage drop usually resulted in decreasing the reverse breakdown voltage of the Schottky diode.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method of making a Schottky diode with a low forward voltage drop without reducing the reverse breakdown voltage.
For simplicity and clarity of the illustration, elements in the figures are not necessarily to scale, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. As used herein current carrying electrode means an element of a device that carries current through the device such as a source or a drain of an MOS transistor or an emitter or a collector of a bipolar transistor or a cathode or anode of a diode, and a control electrode means an element of the device that controls current through the device such as a gate of an MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. Although the devices are explained herein as certain N-channel or P-Channel devices, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that complementary devices are also possible in accordance with the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words during, while, and when as used herein are not exact terms that mean an action takes place instantly upon an initiating action but that there may be some small but reasonable delay, such as a propagation delay, between the reaction that is initiated by the initial action. For clarity of the drawings, doped regions of device structures are illustrated as having generally straight line edges and precise angular corners. However, those skilled in the art understand that due to the diffusion and activation of dopants, the edges of doped regions generally may not be straight lines and the corners may not be precise angles.